The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Announces the DETA Research Center

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative that will investigate factors for distance education and competency-based education (CBE). The Distance Education and Technological Advancement (DETA) Research Center is three-year collaboration with the University of Wisconsin System, UW-Extension, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), that will use cross-institutional data collection to shed on the effectiveness of online course and instructional practices. Supported by the US Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, the overarching goal of DETA is to increase student access and promote student success among underrepresented populations in higher education.

“We want to ensure quality learning experiences for all individuals at higher educational institutions in the US,” said Tanya Joosten, the Co-Director of DETA. “We are enthusiastic and down right excited about engaging with colleagues and institutions throughout the country to conduct research in identifying good practices in instruction and at the program and institution levels.”

In its first year, the project team at DETA Research Center will develop a national research model and implement technology systems for data collection, storage and retrieval. The following year, the Center plans to engage its partners and interested institutions of higher education in collaborative research and data collection through a pilot grant program. With ample data, the Center will be equipped to produce and disseminate effective use cases in year three, which will provide a foundation for online instructional improvement that will be valuable for higher education institutions around the world.

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